Month: August 2011

A huge thanks to all of you who came to visit us at the London Vegan Festival this year on Sunday 21st August 2011 at the Kensington Town Hall. It was a great show! Very busy and we met lots of cool people and drank lots of fresh coconut water straight from the nut!

Needless to say the food was amazing! Rainforest Creations fresh coconut water in the nut were extremely popular (not to mention sooooo tasty!) and so were their wraps. There were vegan cupcakes everywhere from Ms Cupcake and the Sheese cheeses were incredibly popular as usual (yummy!), and Fry’s Vegetarian had some really tasty chunky strips, braai herby sausages and spicy burgers on offer.

There were loads of talks and entertainment for the kids and also a speed dating hour! Now that would have been entertaining had I taken part 😉 . So if you missed it this time round, remember to put a reminder on the calendar for next year…

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The rise in fossil fuel prices has also helped a rise in firewood prices recently. This has largely been helped by an increasing number of folk turning to firewood as a source of heating and this trend is likely to continue in the future. Planting your own woodland can secure your own supply of fuel as well as providing another source of income. The benefits don’t stop there. New woodlands can provide shelter to stock and buildings as well helping to stabilise soil and mitigate the effects of flooding.

Obviously your best land needs to be reserved for agricultural production, but a well designed woodland can suit the needs of your farm without compromising its viability.

Grants of up to £3800/ha are available as well as Farm Woodland Payments which can be claimed for 15 years. These can be claimed on top of Single Farm Payments. The money doesn’t stop there! A growing number of companies are keen to offset their carbon emissions and are always on the look out for Woodland Creation projects that they can help fund.

If you would like to know more about the grants available for planting new woodlands, you could attend one of three planned open days (see below) on farms that have already taken the plunge. The farm owners will be on hand so you can talk directly to them about the “pro’s and con’s”

Peter Fox from the Forestry Commission will be on hand to explain the grants, demonstrate good practice and explain different establishment techniques. A free lunch is also provided. If you would like to attend, please contact him on 07768 142942 or peter.fox@forestry.gsi.gov.uk